Compal Electronics Inc (
Compal will buy 26.6 million shares at NT$37 per share for a 69 percent stake in Arcadyan Technology Corp (
The deal was approved by the two companies' boards of directors yesterday.
"Compal will be able to create a complete wireless communications business by integrating resources with Arcadyan," the statement said.
The new business will move into the areas of digital multimedia home applications and dual-mode phones by utilizing Arcadyan's Internet protocol technology, Compal said.
It is now commonplace for laptops to have built-in wireless communications features, resulting in increased collaboration between notebook computer vendors and wireless technology companies, according to the statement.
The partnership would ensure ample wireless module supplies for laptop computer makers, while at the same time helping the firm to enlarge its client base and introduce new products, Compal said.
Compal will reduce its holding in Arcadyan to 60 percent after distributing shares to employees, with the remaining shares to be held by Accton. Arcadyan will probably hold an initial public offering within two years, the companies said.
Ray Chen (
Although the company projected a rosy outlook for its notebook shipments in the second half of the year, its gross margin in the second quarter dipped below 5 percent for the first time to 4.7 percent, compared with 6.2 percent a year ago.
Chen said on April 26 that Compal would leverage mergers and acquisitions to move into new areas such as wireless communications, digital home entertainment, automotive electronics and portable media devices.
"Our product diversification is still in its infancy ... without major mergers, this segment will probably contribute a single-digit percentage to our revenues this year," he said at the time.
Currently, notebook computers account for 90 percent of Compal's sales, with the remainder contributed by non-core business such as liquid-crystal-display televisions and monitors, wireless products and portable media players.
The firm said earlier this month it expected its non-notebook segments to account for 20 percent of total sales by 2008.
Compal reported profit of NT$8.42 billion on sales of NT$266 billion last year, while Accton Technology posted a loss of NT$302 million last year on sales of NT$18.3 billion.
Shares of Compal closed down 0.2 percent to close at NT$27.95 yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, while shares of Accton were up 1.7 percent to NT$18.2.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure